A new study from First American Data & Analytics and DealGround shows artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of daily workflows across commercial real estate, but most professionals still stop short of trusting it with actual deal decisions.
According to the firms’ “CRE Industry Pulse Check” report, 66% of commercial real estate professionals now use AI weekly or daily. Yet just 5% said they trust AI enough to inform real deal decisions.
The findings point to a clear shift: AI has moved beyond experimentation and into regular use, but remains largely a support tool rather than a decision-maker.
More than half of respondents (53%) said they use AI for support only and exclude it from final decisions, while another 17% said they rely on it only with heavy verification.
“AI adoption in CRE is no longer the question — trust is,” said Matt Key, vice president of property data at First American Data & Analytics. “Professionals are using AI, but only if the outputs are verifiable and the data is reliable. Closing this gap is what will move AI from a productivity tool to a decision-making engine.”
Trust And Verification Remain The Barrier
The study highlights persistent concerns around data quality and output verification, especially in high-stakes transactions where accuracy directly impacts financial outcomes.
The survey, conducted between March 31 and April 8, 2026, included 255 commercial real estate professionals across brokerage, lending, and capital markets, development, and asset management.
Despite widespread usage, the results suggest the industry is not yet comfortable handing over decision authority to AI—particularly in areas tied to risk, valuation, and deal structuring.
What This Means For LOs
While the study focuses on commercial real estate, the pattern is highly relevant for mortgage professionals.
AI adoption is accelerating, but trust is lagging.
LOs are already seeing similar use cases emerge across the mortgage stack, including:
- Scenario analysis and product comparisons
- Guideline lookups and eligibility checks
- Pricing and rate exploration
But like their CRE counterparts, lenders are not relying on AI to make final calls, particularly where compliance, investor overlays, and repurchase risk are involved.
The findings mirror a broader pattern already emerging across mortgage lending, where AI adoption is accelerating but trust remains limited in high-stakes underwriting and compliance decisions. Recent NMP coverage has highlighted growing industry focus on data verification, explainability, and the continued role of human judgment in AI-assisted lending workflows.
